But who in the World is or was Iqbal? | February 27, 2004
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Dr. Pasha
People today ask: Who in the world is or was Iqbal?
All kinds of people.
Among them Muslims and non-Muslims.
Among them Indians, Pakistanis, Arabs, Americans, Europeans and others.
Among them educated and uneducated people.
Among them people of a wide range of ‘Aqeedahs and Maslaks and Madh-habs.
They all ask: Who in the world is or was Iqbal?
Well, let me put it to you this way: Who in the world are you?
In other words, you tell me who you are and I will tell you who or what Iqbal is or was.
Are you a Muslim? Are you a Pakistani or an Indian or a Bangladeshi? Are you an Arab or an Iranian? Are you a Turk or a Kurd or a Malay or Nigerian?
Do you have anything to do with the United Kingdom? Are you in some shape or form connected with Europe or any other part of the Western world?
Are you from just about any part of what people call the Muslim world – from Chechnya to Arabia, from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Morocco to Malaysia?
And what is your language – and your culture? Is it Arabic? Is it Urdu? Is it Farsi? Is it English, French or German?
Or is it Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Indonesian, Spanish, Swahili, Chinese or Japanese?
Just what and who in the world are you and where are you from? You tell me that and I will tell you who or what Iqbal was and is and how Iqbal may turn out to be more relevant to you than you thought.
And then are you an educated person?
Are you thoughtful and cultured?
Are you someone who appreciates literature and poetry, science and philosophy?
Are you tantalized by the power of human language and expression? Are you at all moved or mesmerized by the magic that words hold?
Is your heart struck by the wonders of the world? Is it in awe of the majesty of God’s creation?
Does the motionless majesty of the mountains, the churning of the surf in the sea, the soaring of the birds in the sky, the whispering of the winds in the branches of the trees and the dancing of water drops in pearly brooks and silver streams stir and awaken your mind and give your soul peace and serenity all at the same time?
Can you appreciate design, symmetry and color in things you see in nature, and in human artistry and creativity, and recognize rhyme and balance and cadence in the sounds you hear?
Are you one to be intrigued by the power of ideas and to be dazzled by the wonders of human reason, logic and imagination?
Are you one who cares about culture and civilization and about some of the higher and finer forms of human expression and achievement?
Are you a lover of humanity, regardless of race or color, creed or culture, country or nationality?
And are you passionate about such nobler ideals of human life as truth, justice, freedom, fairness, equality and human dignity and decency – for each and all of God’s creation and Adam’s breed?
Do you love Islam, Muslims, Qur’an, Hadith, Allah and Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam?
Are there moments in your life when you find yourself thinking and wondering about what the real message of Islam and the Qur’an is to the world?
And about what the wonderful model of the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was all about?
Are there times when you lie awake at night asking yourself what it was that propelled the Muslims with such spectacular rapidity to the pinnacle of power, wealth, virtue and glory in the world, and how it is that they seem to have descended in our days to the bottom of the pit of ignominy, humiliation, destitution, helplessness, crisis of character and powerlessness?
Or are you, at a more basic and rudimentary level, a human being who in some form or fashion cares about your fellow human beings and the sad and ignominious fate of poverty, hunger, disease, ignorance, economic and social backwardness and political bondage and subjugation that befalls them?
And is there in your heart a drop or two of what Shakespeare so beautifully and touchingly calls the milk of human kindness?
And does it bother you, even a little bit, what human beings have done to God Almighty’s beautiful planet earth: to its waters; to its forests; to its air and atmosphere; to its earth and soil; to its animal and plant life; and to its people?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you must know Iqbal, because Iqbal was and is your man. You must know who he was and what he did.
And more importantly what he said.
For, it was in what he said, in his poetry, that Allah appears to have elevated him over a lot of others in the world and made him a very special manifestation of his power and glory on earth.
A vox dei in short: a voice of God on earth. That is who Iqbal was.
Iqbal’s poetry radiated the divine glory that bursts out of the Aayats of the Qur’an:
Arrahman.
‘Allamal Qur’an.
Khalaqal Insaan.
‘Allamahul Bayaan
Paraphrase:
“The most merciful one!
He taught the Qur’an.
He created the human.
And he taught him expression” (55:1-4).
And the glory that shines through the blessed words of our beloved prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam:
Inna Minal Bayaani La-Sihraa!
Paraphrase:
“Some expression is indeed like magic.”
In short, that is who Iqbal was and is.
Iqbal was a lover of humanity and of this world – blessed by God with an amazing understanding of Islam and of the world, and with an equally brilliant ability to express that understanding in the form of some of the most powerful and imaginative poetry ever produced by the human mind – in any language or culture.
Iqbal was a lover of humanity regardless of race or religion, color or creed, class or gender, history or geography, language or culture, Maslak or Madh-Hab, Aqeedah or Jama’at.
His soul danced and sang at humanity’s many triumphs.
And he cried tears of fire and blood for the sad fate of human beings in this world.
Consumed by the majesty and power of God’s glory in his creation, Iqbal wrote and sang passionately and powerfully of that majesty and glory.
Those who knew Iqbal, or are familiar with his work, will easily call him superman.
Yet he was merely a beardless man with a Ph.D. Heidelberg, Germany, and others conferred upon him. And with a command over Arabic, Farsi and Urdu that defied comprehension.
And yet his heart, mind and soul were on fire by a book that the Archangel Gabriel, Allah bless him, brought to an unlettered man, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in Arabia, 1400 years ago.
The glorious Qur’an that was in a most miraculous manner a continuation and affirmation of the earlier books that the same angel had also brought to Moses and Jesus, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them also.
Iqbal was held in thrall by that book – the Qur’an. Iqbal was mesmerized by that book – the Qur’an.
Iqbal was both tongue tied as well as energized, galvanized and empowered by that book – the Qur’an.
A book that on the one hand rendered him dazed and speechless out of sheer awe and wonder and which on the other hand conferred upon him nearly superhuman powers of thought, analysis, understanding, speech and articulation.
As a result, Iqbal wanted the whole world to know about that book – the Qur’an – and to see the wonders of that book even as he himself was able to see them.
At the same time, Iqbal was also a simple and ordinary lover of his land and his people.
But which land was his land, and which people his people? Iqbal was anything but a mindless worshipper of territory, geography, language, race, color, culture, nationality or ethnicity.
On the contrary, Iqbal was a man whose brilliant mind had been touched by God’s mercy and grace and illumined and expanded to take in the whole universe.
As a result, to Iqbal all land was his land, for it was his God’s land.
As he put it himself:
“Har mulk mulkay maast,
Ki mulkay khudaa-i maast.”
Paraphrase:
“All land is our land,
For, it is our God’s land.”
So also for him all people were his people, for they were his God’s people – whom God had created from a common ancestor, Adam.
As a result, Iqbal was a lover of all humanity and of all the world of Allah. And he sang about it all with a love, tenderness, power, eloquence, authority, pain, exuberance, joy, insight and passion that set on fire the souls and minds of those who read or listened to his poetry.
And above it all, Iqbal was a Muslim.
And he was most unapologetic in the love of his Deen – and of his God, and of the Qur’an, and of the messenger of God, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and the spirit of liberty, truth, equality and justice they inspire.
And he wore this love on his sleeve and he wrote and sang about it with a voice, energy, insight, sincerity, devotion and enthusiasm that are matched by few before him or since.
And he was a Muslim who loved and respected all Muslims, regardless of their Madhaahib and Masaalik – regardless of whether they were Bareilvis, Deobandis, Ahle Hadith, Hanafis or Shafi-‘is.
And regardless of their racial, national and ethnic labels such as Sayyid, Shaikh, Afghan, Irani or Turani.
He chided the Muslims for their narrow-mindedness and bigotry; for their factionalism, divisions and strife; for their laziness, ineptitude and incompetence; for their ignorance of their Deen, their heritage and their culture; and for their social, economic and political backwardness.
And he warned them, in the starkest terms, against becoming worshippers of the idols of race, tribe, country, wealth and power.
Addressing the people of what used to be united India, he said – my paraphrase:
“You will be wiped out from the face of the earth if you fail to understand the complexities of this world or the precariousness of your own situation. No one will even remember your story.”
He said – in his most magnificent Urdu:
“Na samjhogay to mit jaa-o-gay ai Hindostan waalo,
Tumhari daastaan tak bhi na hogi daastaanon main!”
And how right he was!
Iqbal was a pioneering thinker and trailblazer. Iqbal was there, painting a powerful message of liberation, dignity, education and awakening on the horizon of Islam and Muslims, and the world, before a lot of others were there – standing tall and almost alone, right at the turn of the century – Ala Ra’si Kulli Qarn, as Allah’s beloved Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, once put it.
Iqbal was there before there was Hasanul Banna; or Abul Kalam Azad; or Muhammad Ali Jauhar; or Muhammad Ali Jinnah; or Abul A’la Maududi. And they were all affected and influenced by him directly or indirectly.
Before all these people made their mark on Muslim history, there was Iqbal. And Iqbal’s thinking, understanding and elucidation of the role of Islam and Muslims in human life and history blazoned the pathway for others to follow.
Right at the top of the 20th Century, or the 14th Century Hijri, straddling them both like a colossus – ‘Ala Ra’si Kulli Qarn, as the Hadith says – Iqbal valiantly, and almost single-handedly, tried to breathe a new life into the battered body and faltering spirit of the Ummah: the Muslim people.
Iqbal was a man who loved Allah, and Allah’s Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and the Qur’an, and Muslims – and the world and all the people that Allah created.
As a result, at one level, Iqbal was all Deen, all Qur’an, all Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, all Haqq, all Aakhirat – the next world.
At another level, Iqbal was all humanity, all Muslim, all practical everyday Islam, all Dunya – this world – all at the same time and in the same breath.
In terms of geography, Iqbal was a child of that lovely land that so captivated the heart of the Mughal emperor Babar and which we all know as Kashmir – but he was also from Punjab, the noble land which Hazrat Baba Farid made his home.
Iqbal was not a Pakistani – for he died before the creation of Pakistan – but he was the man who dreamed the dream that later became Pakistan. He had wonderful Muslim parents but he never forgot his Hindu roots.
His thought and poetry embodied the advice Hazrat Baba Farid is reported to have given to his Murid and Khalifah, Hazrat Khawja Nizamuddin:
“Be like a big tree under whose shade vast multitudes of humanity can gather and find rest and comfort!”
More than anything else – and he said so himself – his ideas and words were nothing but a reflection of the Qur’an.
To prove that point, he begged Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala and said:
“Humiliate and dishonor me on the Day of Judgment! … “
“If my words contain anything other than the Qur’an … “
And he said this in Farsi language:
“War ba-harfam ghair-e Qur’an muzmarast …”
“Roozi mah-shar khaar-o ruswa kun mora …”
His admirers have conferred upon him the title of Shaa’ir-e-Mashriq, meaning the Poet of the East, as if his poetry was limited to the East.
And as if the West had a greater poet than him!
Those who look at him from the point of view of Islam and Muslims would call him Shaa’ir-e-Islam: Poet of Islam.
Or Shaa’ir-e-Ummat: Poet of the Timeless and Global Muslim Nation.
Or Shaa’ir-e-Deen: Poet of the culture and way of life that is Islam.
Or Shaa’ir-e-Qawm: Poet of his People.
Or Shaa’ir-e-Millat: Poet of the Muslim People.
But those who would consider his work in the light of the work of everyone else in the world, and would consider the breadth, reach and universality of his vision and his concerns, would accept nothing less than Shaa’ire-Insaniyyat: Poet of Humanity.
Or Shaa’ir-e-‘Aalam: Poet of the World.
Or Shaa’ir-e-Kaa-inaat: Poet of the Universe.
Personally, when I read the Qur’an and then I read Iqbal’s poetry, I ask myself, isn’t his work really Qur’an in poetry? And shouldn’t we all be calling him Shaa’ir-e-Qur’an: Poet of the Qur’an.
This becomes clearer when we understand why it is that some people find difficulty navigating Iqbal’s poems. It is not because his language is difficult, which it is in some ways, but because his poetry is full of references to Aayats, passages, events and expressions from the Qur’an.
Iqbal was a poet who wrote powerfully in Urdu and still more powerfully in Farsi – Persian. But for anyone who has any sense of language and literature, Iqbal’s poetry is among the finest in the world – in any language or culture.
Iqbal loved Muslims. But at the same time Iqbal also loved all people, Muslim and non-Muslim.
He was a Muslim who loved God, but he was also a human being who loved God’s creation.
He was a visionary and a thinker, a poet and a philosopher, a leader and a reformer, of extraordinary sagacity, wisdom, open-mindedness, talent, reach, depth, perspicacity and insight – and complexity.
Therefore, it does not matter who you are, and it doses not matter where you come from, or what your personal, literary, linguistic, national, ethnic, political or cultural affiliation or identity is, you owe it to yourself to know Iqbal.
Nor does it matter what your ‘Aqeedah or Madh-hab or Maslak or Jama’at is or who your Shaikh, Peer, Murshid or Murabbi is. You still owe it to yourself to know Iqbal.
If you are from Kashmir, you must know Iqbal, for Kashmir had no greater son.
If you are a Pakistani, you must know Iqbal, for Pakistan owes its very existence to Iqbal.
If you are an Indian, you must know Iqbal, for Iqbal was an Indian who sang proudly and touchingly of India and its wonders.
If you are an Arab, you must know Iqbal, for it was Iqbal who sang about Arabia as perhaps few people were able to do.
He said – in paraphrase:
“My song may be Indian,
But my tune is from Hijaz.”
As he put it in Urdu language:
“Naghmah Hindi hai to kya,
Lai to Hijazi hai mayri”
I think I got that one right?
If, on the other hand, you are from the United Kingdom, you must be particularly proud of Iqbal, for Iqbal was an alumnus of Cambridge University.
And if you are from any part of the Western world, you must admire Iqbal, for Iqbal’s Ph.D. was from Germany – and the West.
If you love language and poetry, you must know Iqbal, for Iqbal was a master of both in both Urdu and Farsi.
If you are a Muslim, you must know Iqbal, for Iqbal was the best friend, fan and spokesperson Muslims had in a long time.
If you are someone who is actively engaged in serving Islam and Muslims in some organized form or fashion in any part of the world, you must know Iqbal, regardless of your particular language, region or organizational affiliation, for as a true and dedicated servant of the Deen of Allah, Iqbal had few peers.
Everyone everywhere must know Iqbal, for Iqbal was a beacon of light in a foggy, moonless night that kept a near-solitary vigil over the stormy seas of Muslim and human life and events around the world.
Like Ibrahim, Alaihis Salatu was-Salam, Iqbal stood almost alone: he was very nearly the lone Islamic thinker, theorist, reformer and visionary, of his class and caliber, before many of the other thinkers, theorists, reformers and leaders made their appearance.
And like Ibrahim, Alaihis Salam, Iqbal was a nation – an Ummat – unto himself.
Therefore, how embarrassing, painful and disappointing it is, both as a Muslim and as a human being – and as someone blessed by God with a touch of taste for language and literature and with a shade of concern for the Qur’an, Islam, Muslims and the people of the world – that anyone in the world today, Muslim or non-Muslim, Arab or Indian, Punjabi or Kashmiri, man or woman, from the East or from the West, should ask: Who in the world is or was Iqbal!
When someone asks me that embarrassing question, I can do no better than turn to that master of irony and eloquence, Asadullah Khan Ghalib – that other genius that Muslims and the world of Islam produced in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th Century.
Like Iqbal, Ghalib also wrote some of the most marvelous and magical poetry that one can find in any language or culture.
And like Iqbal, Ghalib also wrote in both Urdu and Farsi – the two major Muslim and Islamic languages of the time after Arabic.
Here is how Ghalib put it somewhat sarcastically:
“Poochtay hain woh kay Ghalib kaun hai,
Ko-i batlaaye kay ham batlaayen kya?”
Paraphrased, it means:
“They innocently ask, “Who, pray, is Ghalib?”
Will someone tell me what I should say in reply?”
So, what is your excuse – regardless of who you are and regardless of what your ‘Aqeedah or Maslak or affiliation or organization or Jama’at or background or culture or nationality or language is – for not knowing Iqbal?
And what do you expect me to tell you?
END
(Revised)
© 2004 Syed Husain Pasha
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com